'I'M A WOMAN': Tearful Bruce Jenner Reveals He Considered Suicide While Transitioning To His 'True Self'…His Last As A Man [VIDEOS]

Emotional: Speaking in front of millions of viewers on ABC last night, Bruce revealed tearfully: 'To all intents and purposes, I am a woman'

Bruce Jenner has revealed that he identifies as a woman - his 'true self' and a childhood dream - in an explosive ABC interview with Diane Sawyer. The 65-year-old Olympic gold medalist and reality TV star sparked rumors about his gender identity last year after visibly altering his appearance.

And last night [April 24], he confirmed that he is reinventing himself physically in a bid to transition from male to female in the highly-anticipated, intimate sit-down. Speaking in front of millions of viewers, including Kim Kardashian and her family, Bruce tearfully revealed: 'For all intents and purposes, I am a woman'. 'My brain is much more female than it is male. That's what my soul is. Bruce lives a lie. She is not a lie.' He firmly added: 'I can't do it anymore.'

During the interview, Bruce also admitted that he has been regularly taking female hormones - and plans to completely transform into a woman. But he said he was still attracted to females. 'I was never attracted to the guys,' he told Diane, explaining how he has always enjoyed a good sex life. And he denied that his revelations were for publicity purposes. Instead, he made them due to his inability to continue to 'pull the curtain', he said.

Indeed, hiding his identity was so painful for Bruce that it once left him contemplating suicide to escape from the never-ending scrutiny, he revealed. Many viewers and celebrities were taking to social media last night to congratulate Bruce on making a giant leap for the transgender community. Lady Gaga tweeted: '#BruceJennerABC Now that is bravery', before telling her fans to 'empower people like Bruce' globally by 'being loving & not mean'.

Meanwhile, Bruce's 17-year-old daughter, Kylie Jenner, tweeted an emotional message to her father. 'Understandingly, this has been very hard for me. You will hear what I have to say when I'm ready to but this isn't about me. I'm so proud of you, Dad. You are so brave. My beautiful Hero,' she wrote.

However, other users expressed concern that Bruce's TV appearance has simply made transgenderism into a spectacle.

Living a lie: The reality star added: 'My brain is much more female than it is male. That's what my soul is. Bruce lives a lie. She is not a lie'

Glamorous dresser: Bruce is pictured showing Diane one of his dresses, a black number with see-through panels on its arms and neck

The pair examine the dress. Bruce said in the interview that a full sex change is 'further down the line' and did not reveal his female name

Transformation: Bruce, who has six children, is seen beaming as he unties his hair band to allow his hair to flow freely over his shoulders

Interview: Bruce denied his revelations were for publicity. Instead, he said he made them due to his inability to continue to 'pull the curtain'

Reflective: 'My whole life has been getting me ready for this. I'm really excited about the future, about what good I could do in the world. It's going to be an emotional rollercoaster, but somehow I'm gonna get through it... 2015 is going to be quite a ride,' said Bruce

Intimate: During the interview, Bruce also told Diane (pictured) that he has been regularly taking female hormones - and plans to completely transform into a woman. However, he said he still fancied females. 'I was never attracted to the guys,' he explained

Support: Bruce (left), who has been married three times and fathered six children, finalized the divorce to his third wife, reality star Kris Jenner, last December. He revealed in the interview that Kris's daughter, Kim (right), has been the most accepting of his gender identity

An emotional time: Bruce said Kris's daughter, Khloe Kardashian (pictured, above, with Bruce), 30, had reacted the worst to the news of his identity. 'Khloe has been very emotional, she's had the toughest time with it, she's had a lot of losses in her life,' he told Diane Sawyer

'My hero': But the teenager added: 'But this isn't about me. I'm so proud of you, Dad. You are so brave. My beautiful Hero'

HOW BRUCE JENNER'S CHILDREN AND FORMER WIVES HAVE RESPONDED TO HIS INTERVIEW WITH DIANE SAWYER

THIRD WIFE, KRIS JENNER: 'Not only was I able to call him my husband for 25 years and father of my children, I am now able to call him my hero.' (She also lashed out out at Diane Sawyer for claiming she did not provide a comment to ABC on her former husband's revelations).

STEPDAUGHTER KIM KARDASHIAN: She said yesterday morning: 'The family is watching all together with Bruce. As a family we always support each other 100 per cent and I know that I see things online that there is this divide and this one doesn’t support this and this one doesn’t support this and you know it’s all ridiculous and it’s all rumors and we love everyone in the family and we support everyone equally so we're excited to watch tonight and I’m excited for Bruce to tell his story on Diane Sawyer.'

She tweeted last night: 'Love is the courage to live the truest, best version of yourself. Bruce is love. I love you Bruce. #ProudDaughter.'

STEPDAUGHTER KHLOE KARDASHIAN: She showed support for Bruce after Jamie Foxx poked fun at Jenner's transition during the iHeartRadioAwards in April, calling his jokes 'very mean and a low blow.'

DAUGHTER KYLIE JENNER:After the broadcast. she tweeted: 'Understandingly, this has been very hard for me. You will hear what I have to say when I'm ready to but...this isn't about me. I'm so proud of you, Dad. You are so brave. My beautiful Hero.'

She shared a message of support on Instagram yesterday morning. She posted a picture of her father from the Eighties wearing a crop top and denim shorts with the caption, 'Daddy throwback'. She added the hashtags: '#Tonight #DianeSawyer #ABC #love'

BRANDON JENNER 'Proud son.' Brandon and his wife Leah joined his siblings Burt, Brody and Casey on the Diane Sawyer interview, where they all voiced their support for Bruce.

FIRST WIFE, CHRYSTIE SCOTT: 'I support him in whatever he chooses to do. I just want him to be happy. We see each other on and off at family events, and he is a very proud and present grandfather. We all support him.'

She told ABC in a statement: 'Someone who has lived 65 years of his life as the wrong gender has every right to live the last quarter of his life as his authentic self. I support him and so hope the world can too. I pray for his happiness for the rest of his journey.'

SECOND WIFE, LINDA THOMPSON: She praised her ex-husband for being 'a champion for those who share the struggle to just be who they are.'

She also told ABC in a statement: 'Bruce has always had my loyalty, even if he wasn’t aware of it. I support his courage and commitment to this new chapter of his life. My hope is that his transition will inspire others who struggle with their identities, and my prayer is that humanity has evolved and been educated enough to exercise kindness toward those we may perceive as "different".'

In the second half of the interview, Diane asked Bruce how his children had taken the news that he identifies as a woman. The star revealed that Kim once caught him in a dress, while his daughters with his third wife, Kris Jenner - Kendall, now 19, and Kylie - had also seen him in women's clothes.

He said Kris's daughter, Khloe Kardashian, 30, had reacted the worst to the news. 'Khloe has been very emotional, she's had the toughest time with it, she's had a lot of losses in her life,' he said, adding that Kim was 'by far the most accepting' to his decision to transform into a woman. Bruce revealed how he had explained his identity to his children. '[I told them] "God's looking down, making little Bruce. He gave me all these wonderful qualities. [But then He thought] wait a second, we've got to give him something in his life to struggle with. Let's give him the soul of a female".' he said.

However, fear drove him to stop the process and continue giving motivational speeches as a man, Bruce said in the two-hour interview.Incredibly, he also told Diane that he had embarked on hormone therapy and electrolysis within 10 years of becoming an Olympic champion in 1976. He said he took the female hormone estrogen for a staggering five years, saying women do not know 'how lucky they are that they can be themselves'.

'I felt like a liar,' he told Diane, reflecting on the speeches he gave, telling people to 'find the champion inside you' while wearing a suit. He admitted he would go back to his hotel after each event, take off his suit, and dress as 'her'. Both his first and second wives knew about his secret, he revealed. 'Chrystie was the first one to know,' he said of his first wife, Chrystie Crownover. 'I said these are my issues, this is what I deal with.' She was loving, he said, but fundamentally believed she could change him. Linda Thompson, his second wife, knew it was something deeper, he said.

As for Kris, Bruce revealed that his third wife knew about his internal torment from the moment they started dating in the early 1990s. She saw him cross-dressing, he revealed, but he found it difficult to fully express how deep his feelings sat; that his believed his soul to be female. 'I kind of downplayed it,' he told Sawyer of the early days in the relationship. 'I feel like in a lot of ways, when you loves somebody, you have a tendency, you don't want to hurt them.' He claims Kris was relatively low-key when she found out. 'She didn't say much... "OK, you gonna change now?"'

Bruce added: 'I probably was not as good at saying, "This is really down deep in my soul and I don't know if I can go any farther like this." 'It was tough on her. You see your husband, I get that. I understand...Kris is a good woman. I've got no complaints with her. She's a good person.'

Speaking out: Bruce (pictured pulling a face in the interview) said: 'You know what... it's going to be tough. I've been thinking about this day forever and what I should do with my life. How do I tell my story, how do I tell people what i've been through? That day is today'

Confused: 'I have always been very confused with my gender identity since I was this big,' admitted Bruce, who wore a dark blue shirt

'It's who I am': Despite his 'female soul', Bruce said he does not describe himself as a woman stuck in a man's body. 'I'm a person and that's who I am,' he said. 'I'm not stuck in anyone's body. It's just me. It's who I am.' He added that the interview would be his last one as Bruce

Love: Earlier today, Kylie Jenner took to Instagram to share a throwback photo of her father (pictured) - making her love for him known

'Champion': Also today, Bruce's second wife, Linda Thompson, tweeted her support for her former husband, who grew up in New York

Reaching out: Linda and Bruce are pictured together during their marriage - before rumors about Bruce's gender identity arose

Proud: 'I’m just honored and more proud than ever to be a part of the family,' Bruce's son Brandon (seen left in the interview) told Diane

There for his dad: Bruce and Linda Thompson fell in love and got married in Hawaii when Linda was already pregnant with Brandon (pictured with his father during Friday's interview). A few years later they welcomed a second son together, Brody

Former couple: After Bruce divorced from Kris (pictured, left, with Bruce in 2008) last December, Chrystie Crownover (right with Bruce) - his first love and an interior designer - spoke out about the rumors that he was transitioning. 'I just want him to be happy,' said Crownover

Close: Reality TV stars (left to right) Khloe Kardashian, Kendall Jenner and Kylie Jenner did not discuss Bruce's upcoming interview when they attended the Calvin Klein Jeans' celebration launch of the #mycalvins Denim Series at Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles on Thursday